Welcome to the website of the Burton Christadelphians, who are based on the riverside at the Boat House in Stapenhill. This coming weekend, the river will be home to the Burton Regatta.

This photo of the Regatta was taken from our car park.

Many people have a love of competitions, of sport and of winning! We love to share in celebrations, relive the race countless times after the event, and know that our team has proved itself to be the best. But did you know that the Bible also talks about races and victories?

The Bible says that one of the best things about knowing the Gospel message is that we can all share in the victory of the race for life. Jesus was the winner of this race – the first man to be given immortal life – but we can all share the victory with him if we choose. This is how we win the ‘race of life’. As the Apostle Paul said, “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” (2 Timothy 4v7-8).

You can explore this idea with us – either by reading through this website, or by coming and talking to us. We like to think we’re very friendly and will talk to anyone about the Bible – whatever background or previous thoughts you’ve had. You’ll find that we are different from many churches – we have no paid minister, for example, and our only authority comes from the Bible itself. Do have a look around and explore what we’re all about. You might be especially interested in our Coming Up section, which details what public events we have scheduled in the near future. We hope you enjoyed Burton Regatta, and thanks for dropping by!

Our Reading Group starts again in just two weeks, God Willing! On Tuesday 7 March, come along to the Boathouse at 7:30pm to read the Bible in a very relaxed and informal setting. This year, we’re going to have a look at various things the Bible teaches, and where it tells us. Feel free to ask questions, discuss, or just enjoy letting the Word of God speak to you and show you the plan and purpose of God. No prior knowledge is necessary – beginners are very welcome! We plan to run for 6 weeks, every Tuesday night, and then there’s another block of 6 planned for June / July. Come down and say hello!

At this time of the year, people in Burton, like everywhere in the Western World, get very excited about giving. It is often said that part of the fun is in the giving, in watching the expression on the face of a loved one as they open the present, or in the delight of a child as they play with a new toy.

The Bible agrees that giving is an important part of our human existence. It is within the capacity of all of us to make someone else happy by giving – either a present, or a hug, or even some time and attention. There are plenty of Bible stories that talk about being generous and selfless in the way that we give. Think of the widow woman, for example, who gave her two mites into the temple treasury, which was all she had to live on (see Mark 12v41-44). This example to us means even more when we think that she was not necessarily an old widow; she could have had children to support. And yet the giving was the important thing, not the amount, and not what she got in return, just the giving itself.

Too often we focus on the value of material things, and what we accumulate in our houses. The focus is on the object, not on the action. Jesus Christ lived his whole life as a gift to others – constantly serving, providing, healing and comforting – as well as pointing out the way to please God was to do likewise. Ultimately this is the way the Gospel of John describes his final act of self-sacrifice: as a gift not from Jesus, but from God.

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3v16)

Should we be giving more this year than presents and cards? What could we do with our time, our love, and our thoughts and prayers? Do we value those as much as the goods we purchase in shopping centres? And how do you value the ultimate gift that is offered to you?

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” (Romans 6v23)

We’re holding a special event at our hall on Saturday 24 December at 4:30pm, entitled A King is Born.

Mark Zuckerberg clearly has great intentions, having pledged over £2bn to fund his aim of eradicating all diseases by the end of the century. He and his wife rightly point out how far science and medicine have come in the last century, after “millennia with little progress”. It’s only logical to assume that great advances are surely not far away.

It’s interesting to consider the Bible view on this subject. For a start, it is apparent that Jewish health laws were clearly far in advance of their time – modern health practice only caught up in the last century or so with what the Bible instructed back in 1400 BC (Click here for more on this). Washing hands and dealing with sewage far away from human settlement are just two examples of this. Surely this shows that God knows best, and that God is in control of such things anyway.

If God is in control, then it is arrogant of mankind to think it can solve its own problems. The Bible shows time and again that it is in God’s power to strike someone seriously ill with leprosy (eg 2 Chronicles 26v19), for example, and that it was equally in His power to heal, through His son or through His prophets (eg Matthew 8v3). If God wanted to remove all disease, He could do.

So what is the reason why disease still exists? Back in Genesis 3v19 we see that God intervened in His own creation to curse mankind with mortality: “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” From this point on, mankind has been subject to the frailty and weakness of mortal flesh, and ultimately dies from some affliction or other. It is made very clear that sin, in other words, disobedience to God, brought this intervention. Just look at the way it is explained in Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned,” Romans 5v12.

God immediately, however, demonstrated that there would always be a way back to Him through a promised descendant, who would be the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through him that mankind can once again be immortal and enjoy the prospect of healing.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away,” (Revelation 21v4).

We can be a part of this promise of immortality through belief and baptism (see Galatians 3v26-29) – this is the true and real hope of all diseases being eradicated and mankind being restored to the way he was created in the first place. Unfortunately, despite the best intentions of many people, charities and organisations, God has shown us in the Bible that only this approach will ultimately succeed.

You’re welcome…

Welcome to the web site of the Burton Christadelphians.
Christadelphians are ordinary people from all walks of life. The name "Christadelphian" means Brothers (and Sisters) in Christ. We are bound together by a common faith in the Gospel preached by Jesus and his apostles in the first century. We share the hope of resurrection to eternal life in God's coming Kingdom on earth.
Come and hear a Bible talk every Sunday at 6:00pm (or 2:30pm on the first Sunday in the month).

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